Table tapping aerial projectile game apparatus



March 9, 1965 R. J. LoHR ETAL 3,172,664

TABLE TAPPING AERIAL PRoJEcTILE GAME APPARATUS Filed nec. 28, 1961 .5' 5INVENTORS United States Patent O 3,172,664 TABLE TAPPING AERIALPROEECTILE GAME APPARATUS Raymond J. Lohr and Martin J. Condry, Erie,Pa., assignors to Louis Marx 8a Company, Inc., New York, NX., acorporation of New York Filed Dec. 28, 1961, Ser. No. 162,701 10 Claims.(Cl. 273-95) This invention relates to games, and mare particularly toan apparatus for playing a table tapping game.

The general object of the invention is to provide a novel gaineapparatus for a game which may be played indoors within limited space.The game is remotely related to others, such as table tennis, but theplaying board is very small and may be placed on any available table.The game requires very little room because it employs a hat puck ratherthan a ball, and the puck is hit only indirectly from beneath the board,and therefore has a very limited flight.

A more particular object ofthe invention is to add interest to the gameby the provision of markings on the game board for a variety of diferentways to score the game.

Still another object is to so design the game apparatus that it may beshipped and stored compactly, and for this purpose the net and the legsused with the game board are made readily detachable.

To accomplish the foregoing general objects, and other more specificobjects which will hereinafter appear, our invention resides in the gameapparatus elements and their relation one to another, as are hereinaftermore particularly described in the following specification. Thespecification is accompanied by a drawing in which:

HG. l is a plan View of a game apparatus embodying features of theinvention;

FG. 2 is a vertical section taken approximately in the plane of the line2-2 of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is a transverse section taken approximately in the plane of theline 3 3 of FIG. l;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary section drawn to enlarged scale, and takenapproximately in the plane of the line 4 4 of FIG. l; and l FIG. 5 is afragmentary end view explanatory of a detail.

Referring to the drawing, the game apparatus con-- prises a rectangularplaying board generally designated 12. There are four legs 14 located atthe corners to elevate the board above a conventional table on which theassembly is rested, the top of said tabie being suggested in FlG. 2 bythe lines 16. A net 18 is secured in upright position across the boardhalf way between its ends. Mallets 20 are provided for striking thebottom of the board. A puck 22 is adapted to be propelled from one sideof the net to the other by an upward blow of the mallet. The malletstroke is indicated in PEG. 2 by the change from the solid line position2) to the broken line position 2n', and the flight of the puclr isindicated by the successive positions 22, 22', 22", etc.

Considering the apparatus in greater detail, the playing board 12 slopesdownward from the ends to the center, as indicated at 24 and 26 in FiG.2. The entire board may be an integrally molded piece of plasticsmaterial. it includes an inverted trough shaped flange around theperiphery of the board, to help confine the puck to the board, and tostiften the board. This flange is of substantial depth at the sides, asindicated at 28, but not at the ends, where the depth preferably issubstantially reduced, as indicated at 30. This elimination of the deepiange at the ends facilitates use of the mailets beneath the board, theopposing players being positioned at the ends lice of the board, and themallets being held in a direction lengthwise of the board. At the sidesthe iange 28 is made deep enough to fully enclose the sloping bottomwalls 24 and 25.

The board also has an inverted trough shaped bead 32 extending from sideto side at the middle of the board beneath the net t3. This bead isshown in section in FIG. 2, and it is useful not only for stiffening theboard, but also for limiting the sliding ofthe puck so that it willremain on one side or the other.

At its corners the board is provided with sockets 31% to receive thelegs 14. In the present case these sockets are cylindrical and have adepth corresponding to the height of the flange 28. The sockets areconcealed within the flange. They detachably receive the legs 14's, andin the present case the legs are circular in section and made of wood.The upper ends are longitudinally slotted, as by means of a saw cut, soas to make the same somewhat compressible, and the parts are sodimensioned that the legs are received with a frictional or resilientlit in the sockets. The lower ends of the legs are preferably providedwith feet indicated at 35, and these may be made of a soft material inorder not to mar a furniture table top, or they may be made of a harderplastics ma terial, but in such case with a very smooth bottom surface.In the latter case the lower ends as well as the upper ends of the legsmay be slotted, for a yieldable fit in the feet 36. The inner ends ofthe slots are indicated at 33 in FlG. 2.

The 1nallet 29 may take other forms, but in the preferred form shown thehandle 4t? is a metal rod, and the head 42 is a sphere of rubber. Thisis preferred for noise reduction, as well as its damping action on theflight of the puck.

The puck 22 is preferably a disc made of a plastics material. One isshown on the left side in FIG. l. The body portion 44 of the disc withinits periphery 46 may be thinned to lighten the puck and to reduce theamount of plastics material required. One side of the puck may be markedtails as indicated at 48, and the other side, while not shown, isconversely marked heads This marking is optional and is intended for aspecial purpose described later.

The net 1S is most simply made by molding it integrally out of aplastics material, and the piece as molded may include a widened topedge Sii, and two end posts 52. The remainder of the net is a grid ormesh of any desired type, that shown in FIG. 3 being made up of simplerectangles.

The playing board has sockets `to receive the lower ends of the posts52, as shown at 54 in FIG. 3. ln the present case the top hasrectangular holes to receive the rectangular posts, and inside theiiange the board is molded with a pair of guides or webs 56 which extendtransverseriy across the trough at each edge of the board. The spacingbetween the webs 56 corresponds to the Width of the posts, so that thenet is held in the desired upright position. if desired, small detentprojections 5S may be molded on the post ends 54, to help hold them inposition. ln such case the rectangular holes have clearance inside theposts, so that the latter can be biassed toward one another slightlywhen the net is` being removed from the board.

With this construction the net preferably is cut away just inside theposts, as indicated at 53 in FlG. 3. This permits the net to clear theperipheral flange, so that the lower edge of the net comes down close tothe transverse dividing bead 32 previously described.

Reverting to FIG. l, each half of the board is preferably marked with aserving circle indicated at 60. In

addition, each half of the board may be divided into areas marked withnumbers corresponding to score values. In vvthe present case there aretwo side areas marked 2, two Iside areas marked 3, a center area marked"1, and an 'outer area marked 5, Some of the dividing lines betweenthese areas are indicated on the drawing by the reference numeral 62.

Finally, one half of the board is marked heads, as indicated at 64, andthe other half is marked tails, as indicated at 66. These markings areoptional, and enter into the rules and the scoring of certain gameswhich are described later.

A further structural feature is the provision of a scoring peg to helpindicate and remember the current score. For this purpose the top of theange is provided with two rows of holes indicated at 68 and '70 inFIG. 1. The scoring peg is drawn to enlarged scale in FIG. 4, and mayinclude a handle portion 72 surmounting a stud or pin 74. This isdimensioned to be received in the holes. Reverting to FIG. 1, it will beseen that there are four groups of ve holes each, with an additionalhole at each end. The first hole corresponds to zero, and the remainingholes permit scoring up to the winning score of 21.

Some games which may be played with the foregoing apparatus may bedescribed as follows:

Game #l The object is to hit the puck back and forth over the net untilsomeone misses and loses a point. The first player to reach 21 pointswins the game.

To play, the players are at opposite ends of the playing board. Eitherplayer can start the game by placing the puck in the serving circledesignated on the board. He then strikes the base under the board, andthe puck will fly over the net. The other player then hits it back, andthe play continues back and forth until one of the players misses andloses a point.

The serve is then started again. Each player gets tive serves at a time,alternating with one another, as in table tennis.

Game #2 The object is to hit the puck back and forth over the net and toland in the various numbered places on the opposite side of the board.The first player scoring 21 points wins the game.

To play, either player may start the game. However, each player will getan equal number of shots. This means that if the player who started thegame is the one who reaches 2l first, the other player will then get onemore shot. The first player places the puck on the starting circledesignated on the playing board, and strikes the board underneath. The.puck will then fly over the net onto the other side, and is scoredaccording to the place where it lands. If the game ends tied, it will gointo a sudden death play, with the players taking one shot each untilone scores more than the other. The game is then over.

Each players may score 1, 2, 3, or 5 points per shot. If the puck comesto rest on a line so that a portion of the puck is in two or more4scoring places, the lower or lowest score counts. However, if the puckis on a line and touching only one scoring section, that score counts.

Game #3 This game is played like game #2, with the exception that a puckmarked heads on one side and tails on the other is used. The scoring isthe same also, except that to score, the puck must land on the headsside of the board with its heads marking up. The same applies to thetails side. The players alternate shots. If the puck lands on the tailsside of the board with the heads side up, that shot iS 105i, and viceversa.

Game #4 The object again is to hit the puck over the net and to score asmany as possible. The first player reaching 21 wins. However, there is apenalty for missing.

rEhe players alternate the iirst shot of each game. The first playerplaces the puck in the designated starting circle, and hits the puckover the net and scores either l, 2, 3, or 5, as in game #2. However, hemay keep on shooting as long as he wishes, or he may stop and take hisscore at any time. If, for example, the player scored 3 on his firstshot and decides to keep on shooting and then misses a following shot,he forfeits all points he scored in that turn. On the other hand, he mayquit at any time and accept his score. The second player then shoots.

To make this even more exacting, one can play until a player reachesexactly 21 points. For example, if he has 18 and scores 5 on his nextshot, he stays at 18 until he scores 3.

Game #5 This game is played with two pucks. Either player can start thegame. The first player places both pucks beside the starting circle.Each player gets two strokes on each turn, and if he hits both pucksover simultaneously in one stroke, he receives the score designed wherethe pucks land, plus a 5 point bonus. If he fails to get both over inone shot, he gets the score where the pucks land, with no bonus. ri`hepucks must be played from where they land. rl`his game is scored thesame as game #2.

For younger children and beginners, all of the games may be made easieras by first playing without using the net.

ln the particular assembly here shown the board is about twelve incheswide and twenty inches long, and is supported on legs about twelveinches long. The marginal flange has a depth of about one and one-halfinches. The mallets are about twelve inches long and have a rubber headabout three-quarters of an inch in diameter. The puck has a diameter of1% inches and a thickness of l/s inch.

It is believed that the construction and method ot playing our improvedgame apparatus, as well as the advantages thereof, will be apparent fromthe foregoing detailed description. It will also be apparent that whilewe have shown and described the game apparatus in a preferred form,changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention,as sought to be defined in the following claims.

We claim:

1. A table tapping game apparatus comprising a stiff rectangular playingboard having a continuous intact surface, legs at the corners forelevating the same, a net secured in upright position across the boardhalf way between its ends, mallets for striking the bottom of the board,a puck adapted to be propelled from one side over the net to the otherside by an upward blow of the mallet beneath the board, said playingboard sloping downward from the ends to the center and having aninverted trough shaped flange around the periphery of board to helpconne the puck to board and to stiften the board, said board also havingan inverted trough shaped bead extending from side to side at the middlebeneath the net, said board and flange and bead being integrally moldedout of a single body of material, said net being integrally molded outof a plastics material and as molded including posts at the ends, saidboard having sockets dimensioned to detachably receive the lower ends ofsaid posts, said net being cut away just inside the posts to clear theperipheral flange of the board, said board hav- -ing sockets at thecorners inside the flange to detachably receive the upper ends of thelegs.

2. A table tapping game apparatus comprising a stiff rectangular playingboard having a continuous intact surface, legs at the corners forelevating the same, a net secured in upright position across the boardhalf way between its ends, mallets for striking the bottom of the board,a puck adapt-ed to be propelled from one side over the net to the otherside by an upward blow of the mallet beneath the board, said playingboard sloping downward from the ends to the center and having a flangearound the periphery of 4the board to help confine the puck to the boardand to stiien the board, said anges at the sides being relatively deepand of suiiicient depth so that the sloping board lies wholly betweenthe upper and lower edges of the side anges, said anges at the endsbeing relatively narrow to permit free access to the underside of thegame board for striking the same with the mallets, said board andflanges being integrally molded out of a single body of material.

3. A game apparatus as defined in claim 2 in which each half of theboard is marked with a serving circle.

4. A game apparatus asdened in claim 2 in which the entire area of eachhalf of the board is divided into smaller areas marked with numberscorresponding to score values.

5. A game apparatus as defined in claim 2 in which one half of the boardis marked heads and the other half is marked tails, and in which thepuck is marked heads on the side and tails on the other.

6. A game apparatus as defined in claim 2 in which each half of theboard is marked with a serving circle, and in which one half ofthe boardis marked heads and the other half is marked tails, and in which thepuck is marked heads on one side and tails on the other, and in whicheach half of the board is divided into areas marked with numberscorresponding to score values.

7. A table tapping game apparatus comprising a stiff rectangular playingboard having a continuous intact surface, legs at the corners forelevating the same, mallets for striking the bottom of the board, a puckadapted to be propelled from one side to the other side by an upwardblow of the mallet beneath the board, said playing board slopingdownward from the ends to the center and having a flange around theperiphery of the board to help confine the puck to the board and tostiften the board, said iianges at the sides being relatively deep andof suicient depth so that the sloping board lies wholly between theupper and lower edges of the side flanges, said flanges at the endsbeing relatively narrow to permit free access to the underside of thegame board for striking the same with the mallets.

8. A table tapping game apparatus comprising a stitf rectangular playingboard having a continuous intact surface, legs at the corners forelevating the same, a net secured in upright position across the boardhalf way between its ends, mallets for striking the ybottom of theboard, a puck adapted to be propelled from one side over the net to theother side by an upward blow of the mallet beneath the board, saidplaying board sloping downward from the ends to the center and having aange around the periphery of the board to help coniine the puck to theboard and to stiien the board, said flanges at the sides beingrelatively deep and of sufficient depth so that the sloping board lieswholly between the upper and lower edges of the side iianges, saidflanges at the ends being relatively narrow to permit free access to theunderside of the game board for striking the same with the mallets, saidboard and flange being integrally molded out of a single body ofmaterial, said net being integrally molded out of a plastics materialand as molded including posts at the ends, said board having socketdimensioned to detachably receive the lower ends of said posts.

9. A table tapping game apparatus comprising a stift rectangular playingboard having a continuous intact surface, legs at the corners forelevating the same, a net secured in upright position across the boardhalf way between its ends, mallets for striking the bottom of the board,a puck adapted to be propelled from one side over the net to the otherside by an upward blow of the mallet beneath the board, said playingboard sloping downward from the ends to the center and having aninverted trough shaped flange around the periphery of the board to helpconfine the puck to the board and to stiften the board, said anges atthe sides being relatively deep and of sutilcient depth so that thesloping board lies wholly between the upper and lower edges of the sideflanges, said flanges at the ends being relatively narrow to permit freeaccess to the underside of the game board for striking the same with themallets, said board also having an inverted trough shaped bead extendingfrom side to side at the middie beneath the net, said board and flangeand bead being integrally molded out of a single body of material, saidboard having sockets at the corners inside the flange to detachablyreceive the upper ends of the legs.

l0. A table tapping game apparatus comprising a stiti rectangularplaying board having a continuous intact surface, legs at the cornersfor elevating the same, a net secured in upright position across theboard half way between its ends, mallets for striking the bottom of theboard, a puck adapted to be propelled from one side over the net to Itheother side by an upward blow of the mallet beneath the board, saidplaying board sloping downward from the ends -to the center and havingan inverted trough shaped iiange around the periphery of the board tohelp coniine the puck to the board and to stiften the board, saidiianges at the sides being relatively deep and ot suiiicient depth sothat the sloping board lies wholly between the upper and lower edges ofthe side flanges, said flanges at the ends being relatively narrow topermit free access to the underside of the game board for striking thesame with the mallets, said board also having an inverted trough shapedbead extending from side to side at the middle beneath the net, saidboard and ange and bead being integrally molded out of a single body ofmaterial, said net being integrally molded out of a plastics materialand as molded inciuding posts at the ends, said board having socketsdimensioned to detachably receive the lower ends of said posts, said netbeing cut away just inside the posts to clear the peripheral iiange ofthe board, said board having sockets at the corners inside the ange todetachably receive the upper ends of the legs.

References Cited bythe Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 481,548 8/92 Buck273-95 488,762 12/92 Gist 273-95 1,276,015 8/18 Belknap. 2,160,299 5/39Zinngrabe 273-85 3,059,927 10/62 Kamp 273-85 FOREIGN PATENTS 21,586 1898Great Britain. 864,998 4/61 Great Britain. 383,657 10/23 Germany.

DELBERT B. LOWE, Primary Examiner.

7. A TABLE TAPPING GAME APPARATUS COMPRISING A STIFF RECTANGULAR PLAYINGBOARD HAVING A CONTINUOUS INTACT SURFACE, LEGS AT THE CORNERS FORELEVATING THE SAME, MALLETS FOR STRIKING THE BOTTOM OF THE BOARD, A PUCKADAPTED TO BE PROPELLED FROM ONE SIDE TO THE OTHER SIDE BY AN UPWARDBLOW OF THE MALLET BENEATH THE BOARD, SAID PLAYING BOARD SLOPINGDOWNWARD FROM THE ENDS TO THE CENTER AND HAVING A FLANGE AROUND THEPERIPHERY OF THE BOARD TO HELP CONFINE THE PUCK TO THE BOARD AND TOSTIFFEN THE BOARD, SAID FLANGES AT THE SIDES BEING RELATIVELY DEEP ANDOF SUFFICIENT DEPTH SO THAT THE SLOPING BOARD LIES WHOLLY BETWEEN THEUPPER AND LOWER EDGES OF THE SIDE FLANGES, SAID FLANGES AT THE ENDSBEING RELATIVELY NARROW TO PERMIT FREE ACCESS TO THE UNDERSIDE OF THEGAME BOARD FOR STRIKING THE SAME WITH THE MALLETS.